hope this is the right section, but trail riding these last couple days, I had a few instances where my right hand would get numb after extended periods. I didnt have much forearm pump at all, just hand numbness. Not sure if it was cuz i was squeezin too hard sometimes, or what. I also feel my circulation to my hands isnt the greatest for some reason too...cuz in the winter my hands get cold as heck even with gloves on. Guessin i should just start with loosening my grip a bit?

Same problem here, nothing helps, some days better than others, some days worse.  The flex bars have helped a bit when riding, where I really notice them is my hands dont hurt the next day like they used to. Hand specialist doesnt think I have carpal, thinks I have pinched nerves in my neck / spine area.  Bummer for sure, I cant even ride mountain bike anymore the hand problems are there too.  Let me know if you ever find a solution

hmmm. yea i dont get any pain the following day, and in reality i use my hands a lot, always worked with em, and play the guitar quite a bit too (never bothers me doin these things). As a matter of fact, I can ride for a while sometimes before they bother me at all, which is why I was wondering if it was particular types of rides i squeeze hard on accident. Plus if i stop at a crossing or somethin for a min and "shake it out" itll typically subside quickly, tho sometimes comes back.

It always seems to be the right hand and not the left.

I use to have big problems with my right hand falling asleep as well and was about to go check into carpell tunnell surgery.

I started doing stetches 2-3 times a day and worrying a lot more about gripping with my knees and I have not had a problem since!

Since it is your right hand only, it tells me that you are having problems because you cannot loosen your grip on the throttle, but can on the clutch.

So grip more with the knees and less with the hands.

Here is a link to a great drill to help you grip more wiht your knees!
http://www.offroadvi...s_one_hand.shtm

Hope this helps, have a great day!

Jason

Yea I really need to work on making it more of a habit then a conscious effort to grip with my knees more, lol. Sometimes i get goin and i just simply forget haha. I'm sure it would definitely help me though...Thanks for the link.

one other thing i just thought about, which may be another technique issue, but i thought i remembered hearin bout this yeaaars ago when i rode (just gettin back into it after 6+yrs). Should your hand position be "over gripping" the throttle a litttle, so that when you twist it your wrist line can never go past (or very little past) the natural position. Essentially so when I am on the gas hard im not back bowing my wrist, cuz after extended periods (and I do notice it most when im goin hard for a stretch) that it may be inhibiting proper circulation more? Then if you factor in the lack of legs useage...compounds the problem from weight on wrist/ squeeze on grip.

I feel if i had to over-grip to start thatd take some getting used to, but i dunno.

If your problem is just in your hand & notalso  in your shoulder/elbow, it is most likely a carpel tunnel issue & not a cervical spine problem. Is it your entire hand that goes numb or just some of your fingers/thumb?

Well I think it starts at the thumb/index side, and maybe radiates further down as it gets worse.

sounds like carpal tunnel syndrome.

Well my next question is why wouldnt I have symptoms doing other things? I mean I can sit and play the guitar for 2hrs straight, jammin away and never once does my hands bother me. Could it be this specific activity triggers it? For the record, before I went back to college I ran a lawn care crew for a buddy for a couple years....and used heavy pretty powerful weed whips and stick edgers quite a bit, im wondering if years of of that did some damage. Cuz i know sometimes my right wrist would get sore at times, particularly stick edging.

And last snow season I helped a buddy out sometimes with snow, riding a 4 wheeler with a thumb throttle, and after 4-5hrs my whole wrist got swollen, but i attributed that to tendinitis.

All that said, sometimes I get a lil tingle in my hands just doing nothing at all, not full out numbness, just a little tingly feeling briefly then goes away. This a CTS symptom as well? I thought maybe i had a nerve issue somewhere.

I did ask a Doctor about that, but it'd of ended up with me going to diff specialists, and while my insurance covers regular doctor and major pretty good, some of the specialist stuff not so much, didnt wanna go spending a ton to find out nothing.

I have the same issues, but only when I ride my road bicycle. Not any any other time. My left thumb/index finger go numb after a few minutes. I have tried different seating/handlebar positions. Nothing helps.

I worked physically demanding jobs for 25 years before my current carreer, so I probably have some radial nerve entrapment/scarring issues.

Get to physical therapy where they can show you some stretches/exercises that may help, depending on your level of damage.

After years of hard physical work, in spite of handlebar/stem/seat adjustments, I have the same problem, only in my left hand, & only when I ride my bicycle.
Probably some radial nerve entrapment.

I have a big problem with my hands going to sleep when I am on my road bike, always have. That makes me think that your bars may be at the wrong angle for you. Just an idea.

I don't have any trouble on the bike anymore, but on my road bike I have to shake my hands out all the time to stop the numbness!

I have helped 10 differetn pro riders that had the same problem as you with the numbness on the bike and each where to the point they where ready to go in for surgery. Once they started stretching the proper way 2-3 times a day, the numbness went away and they where good to go!

Jason

Get the Carpal Tunnel surgery 1day and good as new. I'm a member of the club.

Really? Its that easy eh?

I went to work after the surgery, well, because I had to, big snowstorm. If your Doc is well versed in these its a no brainer. I wouldn't advise it unless I was 1000% satisfied with the outcome. I couldn't ride but 10 mins before my hand was numb, numbness at night, all fixed. DO IT!

Not saying it isn't a medical issue but for me changing my grip position was a tremendous help. Mine is all in the right hand too. Changing from the straight on grip to the tennis style or hammer grip did it for me. In fact I use this as an indicator. When my hand goes numb it means I need to adjust my grip.


BTW - Sorry for mentioning tennis on an MX forum............

yea i wondered if it was partly grip, but I have actually had instances in the past where i had numbness @ night and worn a wrist brace because of it. I just thought i was sleeping funny, and that was causing it. In fact i havent worn the brace in months and had no problems. But maybe it comes and goes?

I'm no Doc and don't play one on tv but, it will be aggravated by certain things, typing, using the computer, power tools that vibrate. Get a nerve test done.................... It doesn't lie. That is if you have health insurance of course.

Also check your handlebar position. Your wrists should be in a straight or "neutral" position. If your wrists are too flexed or extended, it could be causing your issues.
My buddy had problems with his street bike. He had the handlebars way too high & both hands were going numb. He rotated the bars down...problem solved!